Easy Storage Solutions From A to Z

Vases

As in: The lasting effects of the various bouquets you received over the years.

The fix:Place them inside one another. You really need only three kinds of vases. New York City–based event planner David Stark suggests a bud vase, for one or two stems; a cup-shaped vessel, for small bouquets; and a cylindrical vase, for bunches of long-stemmed flowers. But if you like your large collection, follow the advice of Meredith Waga Perez, a co-owner of Belle Fleur, a floral- and event-design firm in New York City. “I nestle vases inside one another and put paper towels between them so they don’t rattle,” she says. And never store vases under the kitchen sink, she says: “You can easily knock them over and break them. I like to put vases up on a shelf, where they’re better protected.”